One of Boeing’s largest customers has threatened to order aircraft from arch rival Airbus, as the US airline’s chief executive sought to shore up investor confidence following the crisis over its 737 Max aircraft.
Dennis Muilenburg told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting on Monday that Boeing would ensure the 737 was “the safest aeroplane out there to fly” and rejected criticisms over its safety record in the wake of two deadly crashes that killed 346 people.
His defence came as Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, chief executive of Emirates airline and president of Dubai’s Civil Aviation Authority, said he would seek compensation for the grounding of 14 737 Max jets at Emirates’ sister low-cost airline Flydubai, which has more than 230 on order. He added that Flydubai could order Airbus A320neos as replacements for the Max jets.